2011-03-29 "In upset, Fletcher elected next president of United Teachers Los Angeles" by Howard Blume from "LA Now" online news journal of the "Los Angeles Times" newspaper
[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/in-upset-fletcher-elected-next-president-of-united-teachers-los-angeles.html]
In an apparent rebuke to the current leadership, members of United Teachers of Los Angeles have elected Warren Fletcher as their next president.
Fletcher, a teacher at the City of Angels alternative school, surged from second place to finish ahead of Julie Washington, the union vice president representing members at elementary schools. In unofficial but final tallies announced late Tuesday in the mail-in election, Fletcher had 4,711 votes or 53.6% and Washington had 4,247 votes or 47.4%.
Washington was bidding to be the first African American to lead the union and would have been the third woman to hold the top post. She enjoyed the implicit support of the current union leadership, but that proved a double-edged sword as many teachers with grievances or concerns about the direction of the union coalesced around Fletcher.
Fletcher will take office in July, succeeding A.J. Duffy, who was barred by term limits from seeking a third three-year term.